Need Legal advice for site like tv-links.co.uk

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Need Legal advice for site like tv-links.co.uk

web3421

9:07 am on Oct 23, 2007 (gmt 0)

Hi, I own a site that does what tv-links.co.uk used to do. We get tens of thousands of visitors a day. It's based in the UK and I am worried about the legality issues surrounding it as it seems that the person who owned tv-links has been arrested and his site shut down. If anyone has some legal advice or can recommend a decent lawyer in the UK for this please let me know.
Thanks.

Quadrille

10:39 am on Oct 23, 2007 (gmt 0)

What are you doing that may be illegal?

You know your niche, what's the problem?

appi2

11:58 am on Oct 23, 2007 (gmt 0)

Well the latest on the tv-links saga
TV-Links man was arrested under trademark laws - theregister.co.uk [theregister.co.uk]

And the lawyers at the moment are guessing out-law.com [out-law.com].

Is linking to TM/copyright content now illegal? Who knows!

vincevincevince

12:14 pm on Oct 23, 2007 (gmt 0)

On another topic; there are some countries in which it is virtually impossible to enforce such copyright laws.

web3421

12:15 pm on Oct 23, 2007 (gmt 0)

Quadrille it's a site that indexes a tv shows episodes hosted on myspace and dailymotion etc. Can anyone recommend a lawyer or have any ideas where I should look to find a decent one?
Thanks.

web3421

12:27 pm on Oct 23, 2007 (gmt 0)

vincevincevince would it just be a case of hosting the website there, or would I have to actually move to that country as well in order to avoid such copyright laws in the UK

vincevincevince

12:32 pm on Oct 23, 2007 (gmt 0)

web3421, I'm not a lawyer, I can't give legal advice as I don't have advice to give, and I certainly am not going to advise you in how to conceal something which might be criminal!

appi2

12:34 pm on Oct 23, 2007 (gmt 0)

vince

I've seen that said in various posts, but I'm lead to believe (armchair law) that as a UK citizen the owner can still be prosecuted even if the offence took place in another country. Although they would have to find the owner first.

Well Netherlands isn't included on that list of countries to host FACT statement [fact-uk.org.uk]

Quadrille

1:13 pm on Oct 23, 2007 (gmt 0)

I doubt it's a simple matter of providing links; a lot may depend on the text surrounding such links.

There's a difference between a link and an incitement to break the law, or being an accessory, or 'aiding and abetting'

We do not yet know what that other site is being charged with (if anything), and we do not know how similar this site is to that one (small details can make all the difference, in law).

We do not know, for example, if the links are identical, similar, or to even more 'suspect' sites.

So at this moment, it would be impossible to advise in any specific way.

But if it were me, I'd check the 'tone' of the site, and where those links were going.

BTW, I'm not a lawyer, etc., etc

... and I suspect this thread is in the wrong forum to attract the best response.

georgeek

1:30 pm on Oct 23, 2007 (gmt 0)

1. Set up an offshore company in somewhere like St.Vincent with nominee directors and bearer shares.

2. Have the company obtain an offshore internet multi-currency banking account and a debit card (available in locations like St Vincent).

3. Use the debit card to rent an anonymous dedicated server from someone like Zentek in Hong Kong. (They also supply private domain registrations).

4. Have your offshore company set up a merchant account with payments direct to your offshore bank.

It is possible to do all this without giving your real name, address or any other details to anyone (so I am told).